Helpful Score: 2
It's hard nowadays to find a really good paranormal story about vampires with so many bad ones currently saturating the romance and YA markets. So it is really nice to read a vamp tale that is original while still somehow maintaining the sexiness and allure that made the genre so popular to begin with.
Chosen By Blood is an excellent start to an intriguing series that reinvents the vampire and paranormal genre to create an original story. I've read other stories in which vampires lead variations on a top secret group of paranormal agents. It's been done before but not as well as Virna DePaul's attempt. Her world is fully developed and well thought-out and her characters (especially supporting characters) are more interesting than one would expect. The plot is well planned and complete with lot's of twists, some more obvious than others. More importantly there is witty dialogue and unexpected humor--not as witty as a Kresley Cole novel but definitely more than the standard in a genre that can sometimes take itself way too seriously.
The romance left me a little cold unfortunately. It developed a bit too swiftly for my taste--in fact most of the falling in love part of the relationship is done before we even meet the characters. I prefer a bit more chase and anticipation in my romances. And there is a *lot* of sex. And it is a bit crass for my tastes too. But for a romance reader I can be a bit of a prude so this might not bother anyone else. Our main characters served their purpose as a gateway to the series admirably if a little generically, but I became much more intrigued and interested in the fates of other characters. I hope Wraith and O'Flare's book (coming up next) lives up to the hype. Although I'm impressed with this first novel, I could see my interest in the series waning if the second book doesn't deliver where this one failed, namely to sustain my emotional investment in the main protagonists instead of allowing it to wander to side characters.
Chosen By Blood is an excellent start to an intriguing series that reinvents the vampire and paranormal genre to create an original story. I've read other stories in which vampires lead variations on a top secret group of paranormal agents. It's been done before but not as well as Virna DePaul's attempt. Her world is fully developed and well thought-out and her characters (especially supporting characters) are more interesting than one would expect. The plot is well planned and complete with lot's of twists, some more obvious than others. More importantly there is witty dialogue and unexpected humor--not as witty as a Kresley Cole novel but definitely more than the standard in a genre that can sometimes take itself way too seriously.
The romance left me a little cold unfortunately. It developed a bit too swiftly for my taste--in fact most of the falling in love part of the relationship is done before we even meet the characters. I prefer a bit more chase and anticipation in my romances. And there is a *lot* of sex. And it is a bit crass for my tastes too. But for a romance reader I can be a bit of a prude so this might not bother anyone else. Our main characters served their purpose as a gateway to the series admirably if a little generically, but I became much more intrigued and interested in the fates of other characters. I hope Wraith and O'Flare's book (coming up next) lives up to the hype. Although I'm impressed with this first novel, I could see my interest in the series waning if the second book doesn't deliver where this one failed, namely to sustain my emotional investment in the main protagonists instead of allowing it to wander to side characters.
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